Hall of Fame
Dave Hauck was the longtime head coach of the St. Olaf men's and women's swimming and diving teams, guiding the men's program for 44 years and the women's program for 27 years, while serving many other roles on campus.
Hauck first came to St. Olaf in the fall of 1966 as the men’s gymnastics coach, but became the men’s swimming coach seven years later in 1973, and built one of the most successful programs in the country. He also spent 30 seasons as an assistant football coach, 15 years as the men’s and women’s diving coach, nine years as the men’s gymnastics coach, seven years as the men’s golf coach and six years as the softball coach.
“When he would meet you, you felt like you were the most important person in the world,” said Jon Foss ’87, who swam for Hauck from 1983-87. “In reflecting upon him and his passing, I think what he did was, for a moment, he transferred his considerable reputation and character onto you by going all in in how he treated you, and that really motivated the athletes to try harder and be more committed.”
In the pool, Hauck’s teams won 41 conference championships, with the men winning 28 and the women claiming 15. His men’s teams won 20 consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) titles from 1979-80 through 1998-99. Hauck coached the final nine teams of a run of 11-straight women’s MIAC championships from 1986-87 through 1996-97.
Under his watch, St. Olaf produced 21 NCAA Division III individual national champions and one NCAA Division III national champion relay. Among the 21 national champions Hauck coached was his son and current St. Olaf head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach, Bob Hauck, who was a seven-time national champion, a 23-time All-American and the 1987 NCAA Division III Men’s Swimmer of the Year. Bob started coaching the men’s and women’s programs alongside his dad in 1988-89.
Hauck’s teams scored at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships 36 times, while the women did so on 26 occasions. The men finished in the top 10 at the national meet 12 times in a 13-season span from 1982-83 through 1994-95, including eight in a row from 1982-83 to 1989-90, and finished as high as fourth in the country five times (1984-85, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90, 2008-09). The women placed in the top 15 nationally five-straight years from 1987-88 through 1991-92, peaking at third in 1988-89.
During his career, Hauck was a three-time College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) NCAA Division III Coach of the Year, earning the honor on the men’s side in 1987 and 2009, and on the women’s side in his first season of 1989. In 2009, he shared the honor with his son, Bob.
He was also a six-time MIAC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year (2005-07, 2011-13) and a two-time MIAC Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year (2005, 2012). All told, Hauck coached for over 120 seasons at St. Olaf and coached over 1,500 student-athletes.
In 1992, Hauck was inducted into the Minnesota Swimming Hall of Fame and he later received the CSCAA’s Richard E. Steadman Award, which is given to the swimming or diving coach at the high school, club or college level who has done the most to spread happiness in the sport of swimming and diving, in 2000. In 2006, he was inducted into the St. Olaf Athletics Hall of Fame.
Created in his name, the Dave Hauck Award Fund Endowment honors Hauck for his many years of service to the College as educator and coach, and recognizes student-athletes that embody the ideals of the College. The College awards the Dave Hauck Trophy annually to a senior male and senior female athlete, respectively, in his or her final year of eligibility in recognition of distinguished service and leadership, academic achievement, and athletic excellence.
“He was everything you would want your child to have in a coach,” added Foss. “He was the most hard-working, honest guy. There have been a lot of great people at St. Olaf, but it is hard to imagine anyone who was more impactful to his or her group.”
Born and raised in Madison, Minnesota, Hauck enrolled at Gustavus Adolphus College in 1949, joined the swimming program and quickly developed into an outstanding sprinter under Vic Gustafson. He was a six-time MIAC champion for the Gusties, winning three titles in the 50/60-yard freestyle (1951-53), two in the 100-yard freestyle (1951-52) and one in the 400-yard relay (1953), while qualifying for the national meet in 1951. During his four years, Gustavus won the MIAC championship in 1952 and was the runner-up in both 1951 and 1953. He was inducted into the Gustavus Adolphus Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 and is also a distinguished alumnus of Gustavus.
After graduating from Gustavus, Hauck completed his Master’s degree in physical education at Bemidji State University and, following a two-year stint in the Army Medical Corp, began teaching and coaching in Henderson, Minn. After three years in Henderson, he moved back to his hometown of Madison, where he taught and coached for eight years before coming to St. Olaf in 1966.
Originally hired as the men’s gymnastics coach, Hauck also taught in the exercise science department at St. Olaf for 30 years in addition to his coaching duties. Upon retiring from teaching in 1996, he was named Professor Emeritus of Exercise Science.
After his retirement, Hauck lived in Northfield with his wife, Mary, with whom he had three children and nine grandchildren. A lifelong example of fitness and health, Hauck could still be found working out three times a week in the Skoglund Center with Mary late in his life.
Among the many things Hauck will be remembered for are his Yogi-Berra-like quotes, including “If you want to swim fast, you have to swim fast.”
